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Baildon man found guilty of abuse of girl in tent

A Baildon man was told to expect a “substantial” jail sentence after being found guilty of sexually assaulting a girl more than 15 years ago.

Steven Baxter showed no emotion in the dock at Bradford Crown Court yesterday as a jury of seven men and five women convicted him of five counts of indecent assault, four of indecency with a child, and one of attempting to rape a girl under 16.

He will be sentenced today.

Baxter, of Valley View, had previously denied the allegations, telling the jury on Wednesday: “I would never ever do anything like that, never.”

But, after the 37-year-old was convicted, Judge Jonathan Rose told him: “You have been convicted on overwhelming evidence on these matters.

“You should prepare yourself for a substantial sentence that will be measured in years.”

Baxter, who will also have to sign the sex offenders’ register, molested the child in a tent on a night fishing trip and abused her on repeated occasions at his then flat in Windhill, Shipley.

The abuse happened between 1995 and 1998 when his victim, who is now in her 20s, was aged between 11 and 13.

Baxter had told the jury that in the mid-1990s, he was smoking cannabis, taking ecstasy and going to raves.

He admitted the girl was one of a group of young people who went on a camping trip by the canal.

He said the girl was asleep in one of the tents but he denied touching her.

Baxter said his friends lit a fire and took drugs on such expeditions. That night, others in the group had taken LSD, amphetamine tablets and magic mushrooms.

Baxter also recalled one friend describing a space battle in the sky and another injuring his eye when he tried to shoot himself in the face with an air rifle.